Talking Things Out
by Gennai's Acolyte
Summary: In one world, a failure to communicate led to the destruction of a friendship. But what if they had made some different decisions? Find out what could have been for Seiko and Ruruka during their Practical Exams at Hope's Peak. Rated T for mild language and violence.


So, as I was rewatching Danganronpa 3, I found that I was really depressed by how things went down between Seiko and Ruruka, as they were actually good friends until tragic circumstances alienated them from one another. I felt compelled to write this, to see if I could repair things between them by having the two make slightly different decisions.

I'd like to thank The Apocryphal One for her help with proofreading this and giving me some initial feedback. If you haven't seen her story _Extra Life_ , or its spinoff _Expansion Pack_ , go check them out. They're some of the best content that you'll find on site.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review to let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa. All rights are reserved to Spike Chunsoft Co.

 **Talking Things Out**

Not for the first time, Seiko Kimura, the Super High School Level Pharmacist, was unsure of what to do as she stared dejectedly at the floor. Glancing upwards, she saw Ruruka Ando, the Super High School Level Confectioner, and Seiko's friend and "bestie", giving off an absolutely radiant smile towards her. It was an expression befitting her title, but a sharp contrast to her earlier sour frowns and bored looks that emanated an aura of contempt and entitlement.

The confectioner had come to request one of Seiko's medicines, a serum called a reanimator that tended to improve mental and physical acuity in addition to its intended primary function. Such a request wasn't unusual, and this wasn't the first time that Ruruka had demanded one of Seiko's formulas. As usual, she clearly expected to be given what she wanted. However, this occasion was different. The practical exams for Hope's Peak High School were the next day, and this particular batch of reanimator, a particularly potent mixture, was what she intended to show off as a demonstration of her talent.

But Ruruka had played the guilt card perfectly, reminding Seiko of their friendship, and the fact that the confectioner had no one else to turn to for assistance like this. As the final push, she had even raised Seiko's head up to face her, and asked a rhetorical question about what friends were for, before finishing with that sugary sweet smile of hers. Despite her reluctance to part with her new medicine, and suspicion that Ruruka was going to abuse it in some way, Seiko knew what her answer would inevitably be.

"Fine," Seiko said with a defeated sigh, "I'll give you the drug."

"Yippee!" squealed Ruruka, throwing her hands up in the air and wearing a delighted smile on her face as she began to giggle. Off to the side of the room, Sonosuke Izayoi, the Super High School Level Blacksmith, licked his lips as he watched, before closing his eyes and adopting a smug smile. Clearly this was the outcome that he had expected.

"Thanks doll, I'll grab it myself," said Ruruka, as she turned to walk towards the pharmacist's storage closet. Seiko timidly stretched out her hand to stop the confectioner, but withdrew it almost as quickly. As usual, the assertive Ruruka was going to do whatever she wanted, and Seiko was helpless to stop her.

However, as she neared the closet door, Ruruka stopped suddenly, and half turned her head back towards Seiko. "You know," she said softly, "you never eat my sweets. It hurts a teensy little bit."

With Ruruka's head only partially turned towards her, it was difficult for Seiko to see much of her, but she managed to catch the briefest glimpse of her friend's face. Her eyes seemed empty of life and filled with deep sadness. It seemed so unnatural on the normally energetic and animated confectioner, and it shocked Seiko to see it. Something welled up inside her, whether a feeling of concern, curiosity or both. She had to say something, to stop Ruruka and find out what was going on inside her.

"Ruruka, wait!" Seiko desperately urged, reaching out her hand again despite being nowhere near close enough to actually grab her friend.

The plea surprised the confectioner, who by now expected Seiko to remain timid and let her do as she wished. "Why?" she asked as she turned back towards her friend, the toxic expression of entitlement and contempt returning to her face. "I'm perfectly capable of getting it by myself you know."

"It's not that," Seiko said, struggling to keep her voice from trailing off into nothing, "it's just… could we talk? Just for a little bit, after you find the reanimator?"

"What could you want to talk to _m_ e about?" Ruruka replied, putting a barely detectable bit of acidic emphasis on the personal pronoun. She put one hand on her hip and puffed her cheeks out slightly, "I thought that you were busy preparing for the exams, so why would you want to waste time on something so meaningless?"

"Please!" urged Seiko, desperation oozing in her voice.

The simple earnestness in the plea jarred Ruruka, and an innocent expression of concern and inquisitiveness, one that she often worn in her youth but that had been replaced over the years by a nearly unfaltering mask of cynicism, crept onto her face. It stayed there for just a moment before she managed to replace her mask, adopting a look of confident exasperation. She turned her face upward, throwing her arms wide and into the air, "Fine, if it means that much to you, I suppose I can take a minute to talk."

Though her smile wasn't visible behind her mask, Seiko's eyes lit up in gratitude and relief at Ruruka's acquiescence. But, as she started to thank Ruruka, the door to the medicine closet slid open, startling both Ruruka and Seiko. A tall young man with wild white hair stepped out of the room, holding a bottle in his right hand. He was an underclassman, Komaeda if Seiko remembered correctly, who had stopped in for one of the pharmacist's remedies for constipation. With the stress of dealing with Ruruka, his presence in the closet had completely slipped Seiko's mind.

"Oh,"Komaeda exclaimed, apparently surprised to see Ruruka, though he kept it well hidden under his indifferent and matter-of-fact demeanor, "Excuse me."

Instantly, a dagger appeared at Komaeda's throat as Sonosuke flashed across the room to appraise the unexpected visitor. "Who are you?" he demanded suspiciously.

"One of the first years," Seiko said softly, intervening in the interrogation, "He came for a… a laxative."

Komaeda held up the bottle that he had retrieved from the storeroom and laughed bashfully, apparently embarrassed about the entire incident. Sonosuke continued glaring at him, clearly still suspicious of the younger man. "Well, you got what you need, so get out of here freak," he said gruffly. His behavior caused Seiko to cringe slightly; Sonosuke had always been rather hostile towards any other guys who came near Ruruka, but even so, his statement was quite cold.

Komaeda didn't seem to mind much though, as he walked calmly towards the door without a word of protest. As soon as he began to leave, Ruruka turned and slipped into the medicine closet. Catching herself, she turned back towards Seiko. "So, where's the good stuff?" she asked, "All your fancy containers look the same."

Seiko was bewildered; there were many different types of her medicines in storage, but they were all neatly labeled and Ruruka hadn't even tried to find the reanimator. "They're clearly labeled," she protested, but she decided to go ahead and tell her friend anyways, "Very back, top shelf, middle."

"Duh!" Ruruka exclaimed, exuding a ditzy aura as she dove back into the room to check the spot Seiko had directed her to. She climbed up the stepstool, and saw a bottle of bright and seemingly inviting blue liquid labeled _Reactivator_. This must be what Seiko was talking about, as it appeared clearly distinct from the more mundane looking bottles and vials lining the other shelves. Grabbing it tenderly, Ruruka removed the bottle from its resting place before slipping back down the ladder.

She left the closet and returned to the main lab, where Seiko was nervously fiddling with her hands while Sonosuke stared off into space. She still wasn't sure why Seiko wanted to talk, or what she wanted to talk about, but she supposed that she would find out shortly. "So," she asked, putting on a bored façade, "what did you want to talk about, Seiko?"

"A-actually," Seiko stammered, "I wanted to talk to you… alone, if that's alright."

Sonosuke gave Ruruka a look, clearly waiting for a directive from her. He was loyal to her beyond a doubt, and wouldn't do anything without her approval. She gave a sigh, "It's okay Yoi, I guess Seiko and I are going to have some girl talk. You go on ahead, and I'll catch up to you later." She fished around in her pockets for a moment and pulled out a handful of the candies that she always carried around with her. "Take these to tide you over," she said, tossing them to her boyfriend, "I'll fix some more up for you later." After thinking for a moment, she tossed him the bottle of medicine too. "Take this too," she said.

The blacksmith caught the candies, then the bottle out of the air with ease, though he didn't look too happy about the situation. He was loathe to leave Ruruka without him, even if it was with Seiko. But, he knew that it wasn't a good idea to disobey Ruruka, and the lure of a fresh batch of her sweets later was too good to pass up. Without a word, he walked out the door and closed it behind him, leaving the two childhood friends alone.

"Alright, now what is this about Seiko?" asked Ruruka impatiently. She was curious, but also increasingly annoyed with Seiko's insistent requests. While the two of them had been friends since they were kids, she felt uncomfortable around Seiko, particularly here, surrounded by the pharmacist's tools and experimental concoctions. It was a constant reminder of her talents, and gave the confectioner a crushing feeling of inferiority.

Seiko was silent for a moment, apparently considering her words. In the end, however, she decided to settle for a question that was both simple and straight to the point. Looking up, she forced herself to stare directly into Ruruka's eyes, rather than averting her gaze as she usually did. "Ruruka," she began slowly, "why do you keep asking to eat your candies when I've told you that I can't?"

Ruruka felt as though she'd been slapped. THIS was what Seiko wanted to talk about? She had to struggle to keep from gritting her teeth. Didn't Seiko understand anything? Why would she ask a question whose answer was so obvious? Was she trying to mock her, to rub in how superior her talent was to Ruruka's own? Instead of saying what she felt though, Ruruka instead opted for a guise of omniscience and mischief, forcing another smile onto her face. "Oh, that," she dismissed, waving her hand for emphasis, "You know that I'm just messing with you! Of course I know you can't eat my candy, so I do it as a joke!"

Seiko continued to stare her down. "Ruruka, I know that you're not just making fun of me," she responded, "I know that you use me for my medicines, and I know that you don't spend time with me any more unless you get something from me. I know that you don't think much of me anymore, but I can't believe that you would constantly bring up your sweets just to mock me."

Seiko's words seemed to cause something to snap inside Ruruka, whose cheerful guise slipped away, leaving a veneer of cold, hard anger and shame on her face. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she struggled to retain control. "You don't know anything, Seiko," she said in an angry but subdued tone, nearly spitting the words, "You don't know anything about me, or my thoughts, or what I feel."

"Then tell me!" urged Seiko. She felt so close to finding out what Ruruka was hiding, she just needed to press a little more—

"Shut up!" yelled Ruruka, a shocking break from character for the normally controlled girl, "What do you want me to say Seiko? That I need you and your skills? That I couldn't possibly cut it in Hope's Peak without your help?" Tears began to drip down the confectioner's face. "You don't know what it's like. You're a genius! You belong here, and your medicines are going to change the world. You can do anything, from saving people's lives to making people smarter or faster or stronger. Meanwhile, all I have are my sweets."

Seiko tried to interject, "Ruruka, that's not—"

"But even those aren't good enough, are they?" Ruruka continued, speaking over Seiko's softer voice and preventing her from continuing, "My candies aren't going to make any impact on the world. They can't help people. They aren't even good enough for you to care about! For so long, I've wanted to be like you! I've wanted to _be_ you! You've been my hero, someone who's always there for me, someone who can do anything! But my talent isn't even worth a single word from you, is it? Making sweets is the only thing I can do well, and even then you don't care, and can't be bothered to notice! All I've ever wanted is for you to care about and acknowledge my talents, but I guess that someone as amazing as you just can't be bothered with a failure like me."

By this time Ruruka's voice was hoarse from shouting and her cheeks had tear streaks marking them. She'd lost control, and said far more than she'd intended to. Now, her shame had been made public, and Seiko knew all of the emotions that she'd worked so hard to keep repressed over the years. The only reason why Seiko had continued to bother with her was because she'd acted like she was the one in control, the one with the power, the one with the confidence. Now, though, the truth of her pitiful state had been made manifest. Angrily, she turned towards the door. "I'm leaving," she declared coldly as she stormed off towards the exit.

"Ruruka, wait!" Seiko said, trying to stop her friend. The confectioner ignored her and continued on. She rushed after her and grabbed her friend by the shoulder with her right hand as she fished an object out of her pocket with her left hand.

"Let go of me," demanded Ruruka, turning back towards Seiko with the intent of shoving her away. When she saw what was in Seiko's other hand, however, she froze, paralyzed in disbelief. In the pharmacist's hand was a small round object wrapped in a red wrapper. She must be seeing things; this couldn't possibly be real. She stared at it in wonder, "Is…is that really…"

"Ruruka," Seiko said softly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you by not eating your candy, but I really will die if I eat it. But I still think you're amazing, Ruruka. Even though I can't eat it, I carry this candy around with me every day, the candy that you gave me when we met all those years ago. Everyone was either afraid or weirded out by me because of my mask, but you weren't." She looked directly into Ruruka's eyes to let her see the truth of her words, "You gave me the one thing I wanted, needed more than anything: a friend. You accepted me for who I am, and made me feel needed, so I wanted to give back to you however I could. But," she said, glancing dejectedly away, "it seems that I've just hurt you instead. I should have actually paid attention to you, rather than just trying to give things to you or do things for you."

Ruruka trembled, and fought the urge to break down again. Seiko thought that _she_ was an amazing person? She actually meant so much to Seiko, her hero, the woman she'd looked up to for as long as she'd known her? Ultimately, she couldn't maintain her composure, and broke down into tears again. "Seiko!" she wailed, embracing her friend with a hug. "I'm sorry too," she admitted, "I've been so frightened of losing you that I've bullied and used you for the last two years. I just didn't want you to forget about me, but I've hurt you instead."

Seiko smiled softly under her mask. This was a side to her friend that she had rarely gotten to see, and one that she hadn't seen at all since they'd arrived at Hope's Peak. "It's all right," she said, reassuring her friend as she returned the embrace, "I'm glad to know how you feel. But you shouldn't sell yourself so short," she said, straightening back up to face Ruruka, "You have an incredible talent, and I'm sad that I can't experience your sweets for myself. You said that you can't help people, or change the world, but that's not true. Look at how many people love your sweets! Sonosuke and everyone else adore them, and as long as you keep putting your passion into making them, I'm certain that you'll change the world for the better."

Ruruka looked up at Seiko, and a warm, genuine smile spread across her face. "Thanks Seiko," she said, "I needed to hear that."

"And I mean every word of it Ruruka," assured Seiko.

"You know," Ruruka said, "I'm really glad that you asked me to talk. Things have been so stressful lately that I've been treating you even worse than usual. I'll…try not to take things out on you any more. We're still besties, right?"

Seiko's smile deepened. "That we are," she assured.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going," Ruruka said, "I know that you need to prepare for the practical exams, and I have some work to do as well." A thought suddenly crossed her mind, "I should go find Yoi and bring back your formula. It's not right for me to take that if you were going to use it for your exam. I'm sure that I could always find something else."

"That's fine," Seiko said, to Ruruka's surprise, "I've been working on several different compounds for the exam, so losing one shouldn't be a problem. Just be sure that you don't overuse it. It can be pretty potent, and I don't think you need it anyways."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence," Ruruka replied, her playful, mischievous side returning again, "I'll leave you to it then." Sliding the door open to leave, she turned back one last time. "Thanks a billion Seiko," she said, her voice filled with authentic gratitude, "You really do rock."

* * *

That night, Ruruka spent hours in Hope's Peak's kitchen, toiling away into the wee hours of the morning to make sure that her project was finished and ready to present to the judges the next day. Even though candies were what people typically associated with her, she could whip up any kind of dessert imaginable, and for a practical exam of her talent, she'd decided that candy just wouldn't cut it. Instead, she'd settled on an elegant and complex dish called a choux crème, which resembled a sandwich, with two pastries and a thick layer of pastry cream in between.

She'd finished the pastries themselves, which had finished cooling and were ready to be put together, but she still needed to whip up the cream. All of the ingredients were in the bowl, except for one. Her gaze fell over the bottle of blue liquid that Yoi had left there for her. She'd infused some of her desserts with Seiko's concoctions before, in order to give them an extra special little kick. She'd planned on doing the same thing here, but hadn't been able to make herself do so yet. Her earlier conversation with Seiko was still fresh in her mind. Her friend had said that her talent was incredible, and that it could change the world on its own. But what if Seiko had only said those things to make her feel better? And couldn't adding the reanimator just make her pastries even better? It had worked for her before, so why not now?

Reaching over, Ruruka grabbed the bottle and, for a moment, considered opening it and adding it into her mix. Instead, she placed it back in her bag. After all, it was Seiko's work, not hers. She needed to prove to the judges, the world, and herself, that her work could stand on its own. If she continued relying on others for success, she'd never be able to change the world like she wanted. Allowing herself a small smile, she gave her pastry cream another stir, then took a sample for herself. Yes, that was just perfect…

* * *

Seiko ran through the hallway in a panic. "I knew it! Sleep through the alarm, I shouldn't have pulled an all-nighter! At least these should be worth it, I hope." She'd stayed up for the entire night whipping up several batches of new medicines that she hoped would impress the judges. There was even a little surprise that she'd thought up almost at the last minute, though she wasn't completely sure if it would work. She'd just have to pray and hope that things turned out okay. With her still being a bit drowsy, and her mind distracted by other thoughts, she completely missed the figure stepping out into the hallway in front of her. Unable to stop or move out of the way in time, she collided with the person, sending both of their bags flying up into the air and causing them both to collapse to the ground.

"Ow, right in the…" mumbled the other person. Seiko looked up to see Komaeda rubbing his head. He seemed as surprised as she was as he looked over at her. "Kimura? What are you…?"

"Oh no," Seiko said, shaking her head, "Not again." This wasn't the first time that she'd stumbled. She only hoped that her bottles and vials hadn't broken when her bag had gone flying. But, she didn't have time to check; she was already running late for her scheduled exam time. Besides, she wanted to try to make it for Ruruka and Sonosuke's exams too, to lend them her support.

"Sorry," Komaeda said as he stood. He offered Seiko a hand to help her up. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied in embarrassment, refusing the offered assistance as she pulled herself to her feet. Fortunately, her bag had landed near her, and she grabbed it so she could hurry to the exam building.

"Tough break," observed Komaeda, "Seems luck has it in for us both."

The comment reminded Seiko of Komaeda's problem, and even though she was in a hurry, she couldn't resist taking a moment to make sure that her laxative had worked. "How is the uh, i-issue?" she asked, uncomfortable with prying too deeply into such a personal matter.

Komaeda laughed. "That concoction of yours is a miracle cure," he proclaimed, his face covered by a smile, "I must have lost five pounds!"

Seiko almost felt like she began glowing after hearing the news. It never failed to fill her with joy to hear that her medicines had been able to help someone. Clearing out someone's bowels wasn't quite the same as saving a life, but it was a start. She suddenly remembered her exam though, and the glow vanished, leaving behind an aura of panic. "I'm late!" she yelled as she took off down the hallway again. Even with her sprinting, it still took her several more minutes to reach the doors of the testing facility. Taking a short moment to try to catch her breath, she opened the doors and hurried inside.

It was obvious that the evaluations had already begun, and had been going for some time. Fortunately, Seiko's exam had been scheduled as the last of the five students in her group. She quickly walked over to the chairs designated as a waiting area for the students, still panting from her run, and saw Sonosuke sitting, while Ruruka's chair was empty. Clearly, she'd arrived too late and had missed his performance, but hopefully she could still watch Ruruka and be there to lend her emotional support.

Sonosuke noticed her approach and ever so slightly nodded his head to designate the stage where Ruruka was having her exam. Given the size of the room, the judges and presenting students were all given mics, so it was easy to hear what was going on. Seiko watched observantly, curious as to what her friend had quite literally cooked up for the exam.

"Good," declared the head judge, upon confirming that Ruruka had appeared on time, "shall we begin?"

The judge next to him leaned forward. "And you are…the Super High School Level Confectioner?" She chuckled and declared, "This should be great!"

Ruruka stood facing the judges with a broad smile across her face. "Thank you," she said, giving a slight bow and clearing her throat, "I present to you Sky-Blu-Heaven Days Choux Crèmes. If I had to sum them up in a word, it would be divine! I'm sure you'll all agree that they're treats fit for angels themselves! These choux crèmes are très supreme!"

"Well, alright then!" declared one of the judges, "Let's dig in!" The judges began to eat the pastries, starting with nibbles, but quickly moving to stuffing as much into their mouths as they could. Their faces lit up in near euphoria as they tasted the crèmes, savoring each bite even as they packed them in as quickly as they could.

On the stand, Ruruka gave a warm smile. She'd never quite considered how genuinely happy her sweets made people, but her conversation with Seiko had convinced her to open her eyes to what she'd missed before. Given the judges' faces, it was clear that she had passed, but even more important was this proof before her that her talent could have a profound impact on people. She didn't even need to augment it with any of Seiko's formulas. She could succeed on her own, and was confident that she could continue to do so as long as she had the support of her friends.

As the judges finished eating, they began to jot down some notes on their scorecards, and began whispering to each other. After a few minutes of conferencing, the head judge gave Ruruka a smile. "Congratulations Ms. Ando. You've passed with flying colors, and I dare say that we are all looking forward to seeing you again next year."

Ruruka bowed and, after thanking the judges, walked back over to the students' chairs. Yoi gave her a smile, and Seiko stood up to greet her. "Congratulations Ruruka," she said, "I knew that you'd come up with something great."

"Thanks Seiko," Ruruka replied, "I'm sure you'll do amazingly, but good luck anyways! They'll probably be calling you up in a few moments."

As if on cue, the head judge called out, "Next student!" Gripping her bag tightly, Seiko nervously walked over to the stage for her presentation. Climbing up the steps to her designated position, she took her place and faced the judges. "Ms. Seiko Kimura?" the head judge asked for confirmation. Seiko gave an emphatic nod, and the judge smiled. "Good, he declared, "shall we begin?"

As usual, the judge seated next to him checked her roster for Seiko's information. "So, you're the Super High School Level Pharmacist, right? I must admit, I'm interested to see what you've brought for us today."

"Well," Seiko said, trying to sound confident, "I've brought three different compounds to demonstrate today." She started to unzip her bag, "I hope that you'll find them to be…" She froze as she stared at the inside of the bag. Not only were her medicines not inside, but the bag was instead filled with cans of soda, wooden jars, and, most notably, a large red button inside a protective case. It was clearly meant to be a detonator of some sort, or at least to resemble one.

"Is there a problem Ms. Kimura?" asked the head judge. He stood up, allowing him a glimpse of the contents of the bag. "What is the meaning of this!?" he shouted.

Seiko was still in shock, furiously trying to comprehend the insanity of the situation unfolding before her. "What the…" she whispered to herself, "When did…" She couldn't believe what was happening. All of her work was gone, and her all-nighter had been for nothing. She was going to be expelled from Hope's Peak, and probably arrested for terrorism. She'd never be able to reach a position where she could use her skills to save more people's lives. She could feel her dreams crumbling down around her, and it was all she could do to not break down and cry.

The other judges were now discovering what was going on, and starting to panic. There were shouts for security and for people to fetch Juzo Sakakura. Ruruka could tell something was wrong, but she didn't know what. It wasn't in proper etiquette, but she rushed over to the stage to see what was wrong with Seiko. Sonosuke followed suit, grumbling to himself about being broken away from his snack break.

By the time they reached the stage, security had grabbed Seiko and confiscated the bag and its illicit content. Ruruka could see that Seiko was in tears. "What is going on here?" she demanded, "Why are you restraining Seiko?"

"She's clearly the one who's been putting up the threats around the school for the past day," said the head judge, "We found the detonator in her bag, so we've confiscated it for safety reasons."

"Seiko wouldn't do that!" protested Ruruka, "I'll vouch for her. She's not the kind of person who would ever try to hurt anyone else."

"I ran into another student on my way here this morning," Seiko interjected, her voice barely more than a whisper, "our bags must have gotten mixed up."

"Do you really expect us to believe such a flimsy excuse?" the judge asked.

"Well I do," said a new voice. Juzo Sakakura, the head of security at Hope's Peak, and former Super High School Level Boxer, had finally arrived at the scene. "She's obviously as surprised as the rest of you, and she looks like she's about to fall apart." Sakakura scowled; Munekata had told him that he thought Seiko Kimura, the Super High School Level Pharmacist, could be a valuable asset, and had asked him to keep an eye on her, but right now Sakakura wasn't particularly impressed. He looked down at the woman, who was crouched and shaking on the floor. "Who was the student that you bumped in to?" he demanded. She stopped shaking, but didn't answer, even after a few moments had passed. Sakakura shook his head. "So, it's going to be like that, huh. Well, I can't make you tell me, but it does make things harder." He motioned for the other guards to leave, then turned back towards the judges. "She's not your culprit, so why don't you go ahead and let her take her exam."

"My medicines… they were all in my bag," Seiko whispered despairingly.

"Damn," said Sakakura, "Well, there's only so much that I can do here. You'll have to find something to present."

One of the judges on the far end, who had been staying mostly quiet during the exams, decided to chime in. "The rules do stipulate that we can take a ten-minute recess in the case of an emergency. I'd say that finding a possible explosive device certainly qualifies."

The head judge nodded in agreement. "Very well then," he declared, "Ms. Kimura, you have ten minutes to prepare your presentation. However, as soon as this time is up, you will present or we will assign you a failing grade. Judges are adjourned for a ten-minute recess."

The judges began to walk off, either to use the restroom or to take a refreshment break, and Seiko slowly rose to her feet. She'd been given a temporary stay, but she still had nothing that she could present to the judges. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself out loud.

Next to her, Ruruka was hit with a burst of inspiration. She fished into her own bag and pulled out the jar of blue liquid that she'd borrowed from Seiko the day before. "Hey Seiko," she said, "I ended up not needing this, so why don't you use it for your exam?"

Seiko looked at the bottle, and her eyes opened wide as she read the label, which clearly said _Reactivator_. "Ruruka," she said, "this… this isn't the reanimator that you wanted. This is one of my most potent laxatives. The names of the two are almost the same, so they must have somehow gotten mixed up."

Ruruka's face blanched at Seiko's revelation. She'd come so close to adding the serum to her crèmes. If she had…she didn't want to think of the nightmare that would have unfolded. A sudden jolt of realization struck Seiko. Komaeda had said that his constipation had cleared up, but he'd clearly taken the wrong bottle. Plus, he was the one whom she must have exchanged bags with. She hadn't wanted to tell Sakakura, because she didn't want to cause any trouble for Komaeda, but now…

"Sonosuke?" she asked, "I bumped into Komaeda earlier. He should still have my bag, and you're the most athletic one of us. Is there any way you could track him down and get my bag back? He can't have gone too far."

As usual, Sonosuke turned to Ruruka for confirmation. Usually, this was rather endearing, but right now it was quite annoying. "Go!" she commanded, "We can't let Seiko fail after all she's done for us. We're all in this together, as friends!"

Sonosuke struggled to not roll his eyes at the cheesiness of the declaration, but he had to admit that he owed Seiko quite a bit, and had a soft spot for her. Ruruka was his love, but Seiko was like the younger sister that he didn't want to admit that he liked, but who he would do anything for. "Don't worry," he reassured the two, "This shouldn't take long." With that, he turned and dashed out towards the exit, hoping that he'd stumble across Komaeda quickly. He hadn't liked or trusted him from the moment he'd seen him, so he was more than willing to play a little bit , he was sure that if was successful, Ruruka would have a special treat for him. That motivated him even more, as if the desire to help Seiko out wasn't enough. He flew out the door and into the courtyard, keeping his eyes peeled for the troublemaking underclassman.

* * *

Nagito Komaeda, Class 77's resident Super High School Level Lucky Student, walked lackadaisically along one of the sidewalks connecting separate parts of the Hope's Peak Campus. The smile on his face appeared innocuous at first, but a longer analysis might yield the discovery of a disturbingly fanatical and unhinged thought process within the expression. Looking at the tray in his right hand, which held five full white paper cups, he began to go over his personal checklist. "Laxatives, check," he said aloud to himself, shifting the strap of his bag closer to his neck so that he could grip the tray with both hands, "Explosives, check. All ready to deal with examiners!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded a voice, apparently from a newcomer.

Komaeda saw another man approaching, wearing a scowl on his face. Komaeda recognized him: Izayoi, the Super High School Level Blacksmith. He may have been Komaeda's upperclassman, but he'd had the good luck to encounter him the previous day. What wonderful Hope he'd shown, putting himself between Komaeda and Ando, the Super High School Level Confectioner! That incredible potential, incredible Hope, was all that Komaeda had ever wanted to see. It was why he'd put together this plan to disrupt the exam proceedings, so that his classmates would have time to properly overcome their sadness and give off a Hope that would shine more brightly than ever before when they finally took their practical exams. And who knows? Maybe out of the despair of the ruined exams would be birthed a new, glorious Hope! As long as he could help such a Hope be born, he would gladly suffer whatever consequences came his way; even death would be a small price to pay for trash like himself.

Sonosuke, however, did not understand Komaeda's motivations, and he didn't care. "Hand over the bag, Komaeda," he demanded, "It belongs to Kimura."

Nagito scratched his head and smiled bashfully. "It does, does it?" he remarked, "It figures. It would be just my luck to get the two mixed up. But, I'm afraid I can't let you have it without getting my own bag back first."

Sonosuke snorted, "Why, so you can blow up the school, you crazy freak? We all saw the detonator inside, so I don't think you'll be getting that back any time soon. Now, just give me the bag before I hurt you."

Nagito's smile fell into a frown as he observed the blacksmith. Couldn't he see why Nagito needed that bag and detonator? Didn't he care about Hope and its potential? He gave a sigh. "If I can't set off my bombs, I'll have to find some other way to stop the exams. I'm sure that the Super High School Level Pharmacist has something I could make use of." He smiled again, and this one was even more unnerving than the last. "How about you try to take the bag from me Izayoi? Show me how much you want it. Show me the extent of your Hope."

"Fine," said Sonosuke, slightly amused at the challenge, "If that's how you want this to go, that's fine with me. Just don't complain about it later." Faster than most people could see, he retrieved a knife from inside his coat, and lunged towards Komaeda. The attack was on point, honed through hours of practice and training, but to Sonosuke's surprise, Komaeda casually moved out of the way, avoiding the hit. He swung again and followed it with a downward stab, but each time the underclassman managed to avoid the strikes with seemingly no effort at all.

Komaeda frowned again in disappointment. Was this truly the extent of his upperclassman's Hope? Even with the threat of his friend failing and being expelled hanging over his head, he was unable to even touch Nagito. How depressing. It just proved that Nagito needed to do something to create a much stronger, brighter Hope, one that could overcome any despair. This Hope before him wasn't nearly enough.

Komaeda avoided another strike, and by now Sonosuke was extremely annoyed. He didn't know what the underclassman's talent was, but it must have been pretty impressive to be able to avoid his attacks. After taking another stab at Komaeda, this time at the younger man's right arm, he watched as Komaeda lifted his arm up and out of the way, keeping the tray in his hand carefully balanced as he evaded the knife. Sonosuke narrowed his eyes. Komaeda had been carrying that tray and its contents this entire time, and had been careful to avoid dropping it or letting anything spill. That gave the blacksmith an idea.

Taking a breath, Sonosuke launched a new series of stabs and slashes at Komaeda, all of them targeting his left arm. As he had hoped, Komaeda worked carefully to avoid letting the tray be struck, and it was obvious that he was having more difficulty avoiding Sonosuke's flurry of blows. The lucky student stepped back and stumbled slightly, struggling to keep the tray upright in his hand. Taking advantage of the situation, Sonosuke switched targets and brought his knife down on Komaeda's left hand, leaving a painful gash. Nagito winced, and the bag slipped from his left shoulder and fell to the ground.

In an instant, Sonosuke snatched the bag by its strap, heaving it over his shoulder. Komaeda examined his hand for a moment, still holding the tray, then gave another bashful smile. "Well, I guess you win, Izayoi," he said, "Such magnificent Hope! It makes my heart flutter just to see it!"

Sonosuke didn't bother to listed to Komaeda, and didn't even hear his words. He was already racing back towards the testing facility. Time was short, but he should make it if he hurried.

* * *

Back in the exam facility, Seiko paced nervously, anxiously awaiting her fate. Ruruka had tried to reassure her that things would turn out okay, and that Yoi wouldn't let them down, but it felt like hours since the blacksmith had gone careening out the door. By now, the judges had returned from their breaks and had taken their seats, before spending a few moments whispering to each other in secret discussion. Finally, the head judge looked at his watch, then stared over at Seiko.

"I'm sorry Ms. Kimura," he said, "but our ten-minute break is up. You'll have to present us with something, or we have no choice but to fail you."

Seiko wanted to cry again as she stood and walked over towards the stage. It would be humiliating to not have anything to present, but she should at least still apologize to the judges for her failure. All of her hard work, and all of the help from Ruruka, Sonosuke, and Sakakura, it was all for nothing.

She'd just put her foot on the first step to climb up onto the stage when the doors flew open. She turned towards the sudden noise and saw Sonosuke, nearly out of breath and carrying a Hope's Peak bag slung over his shoulder. "Wait!" he called, as he hastily moved over towards the stage. "I think you'll be needing this, Seiko," he said dryly as he handed the bag over to her.

"Yay! Yoi, you made it!" proclaimed Ruruka in a tone of giddy excitement, as she walked over to join her two friends, "I knew that you wouldn't let us down! Here," she said, pulling some of her special chocolates out of her pocket, the ones that she only used when she really wanted to get someone to do something, or to show someone how appreciative she was.

Izayoi greedily swiped the candies out of her hand, and quickly stripped the wrapper from one before popping it in his mouth. "So good," he mumbled, his mouth filled with chocolate, "Thanks Wuwuka!"

Seiko watched her two friends, tears filling her eyes, though these were tears of joy rather than despair. She was so blessed to have these two friends, who would go to so much trouble just to help her. This was what she had always wanted, and she couldn't imagine a world without having these two by her side.

"Ms. Kimura!" called the head judge, snapping her out of her thoughts, "You need to present to us _now_."

A cute, sulking, pouty look came onto Ruruka's face. "Come on," she complained exasperatedly, "couldn't you just let us have this moment?" She turned towards Kimura. "Good luck Seiko!" she said, "I know you'll do great!" She turned to go back to her chair when she felt someone grab her hand.

"Ruruka," Seiko asked, "Could I… have one of your chocolates? I want to use it in my presentation."

Ruruka couldn't believe what she was hearing. Seiko was asking _her_ for something to help her with her presentation? She couldn't believe it. Smiling, she fished another of her special chocolates out of her pocket and handed it to the pharmacist. "Here you go," she said, "I hope it helps!"

"Thanks," Seiko said as she took the sweet from her friend, "I know it will." Taking a deep breath, she turned and continued up the steps to approach her designated presentation area. As she turned to face the judges, she saw that their faces looked rather inscrutable, a sharp contrast to their warmer expressions earlier. "I have three different formulas to demonstrate today," she said, trying to sound confident, "The first is a physical enhancer pill that I call Titan. It increases strength, speed, and athletic ability, but is extremely potent. There are some side effects, including increased aggression and rapid hair growth, but as long as you use the proper dosage, these shouldn't manifest too heavily."

Unscrewing the cap of her first bottle, she withdrew two green pills, and popped them into her mouth. Like all of her medicines, this one acted almost instantly, and she could feel her muscles rippling as they were augmented by the medicine. She could see that her hair had grown out about half an inch, but that was to be expected. Reaching back into her bag, she withdrew a thick metal pipe and held it between her hands. The judges looked on in anticipation, and Seiko clenched her teeth behind her mask. Then she began to pull on the metal, trying to twist it out of its normal shape. She had to strain to do so, even with the enhancement from the medication, but the metal quickly began to give. After a few seconds, she had bent the metal into the shape of a V. The judges were clearly impressed, and were busily scribbling notes onto their papers.

But that wasn't the only thing she was doing. Setting the metal onto the ground, she bent her knees and leapt up into the air. It was a stretch, but she managed to grab onto one of the pipes running across the ceiling. As the judges looked on in awe, she leapt between several of the pipes to give a more comprehensive demonstration of her pill's abilities. Looking down, she saw Ruruka and Sonosuke smiling up at her, giving silent encouragement. After a few moments, Seiko maneuvered herself back over the stage and dropped back down in front of the judges.

After placing the bottle of pills back into her bag, she withdrew her second mixture, a lime-green liquid labeled as _Stitch_. She also picked up a large medical scalpel that she'd borrowed from another of her underclassmen, the Super High School Level Nurse, Mikan Tsumiki. With the new items in hand, she faced the judges once again. "My next compound contains an agent for rapidly healing injuries. It can be applied either directly to the wound, or be orally ingested, and will work in seconds." Bracing herself, Seiko took the scalpel and slid it across the palm of her left hand. The judges gasped in surprise, and she had to struggle to keep from yelling in pain. The wound wasn't deep, but it was still quite painful, and blood immediately began seeping out. After slipping her mask down with her good hand, she took a swig of her healing formula, and poured a small bit out onto her left palm. After a few, agonizing seconds, the skin on her hand started to stitch itself over the wound, covering the injury without leaving so much as a scar.

That made two down, and only one to go. Stowing her materials inside her bag, she withdrew her third and last product, a syringe filled with a cherry-red serum and labeled as _Amor_. "I have one last product to demonstrate for you all today—"

"That's hardly necessary, Ms. Kimura," the head judge said, "You've given a more than sufficient demonstration of your talent. Why don't you hold this one off until next year—"

"I want to show this one!" Seiko said, with pleading in her voice, "It's really important to me!"

The head judge shrugged and settled back into his chair, "Very well then. You're the last student in this batch anyways, and we still have some time."

"Thank you," Kimura replied gratefully, "This last product is special, and something that I just developed last night. The medicines that I have to take are incompatible with refined sugar and other artificial sweeteners. If I eat any foods containing these, my body will go into shock, and I could very likely die." With that, she unwrapped the chocolate Ruruka had given her earlier and tossed it into her mouth.

The judges leaped out of their seats in alarm; watching the pharmacist cut herself had been uncomfortable, but it wasn't something that could potentially end in death. This was on an entirely different level of emergency. Ruruka stared in shock for a moment. Hadn't Seiko always refused to eat her sweets before? And if she ate them, she might die? What could Seiko possibly be thinking? She stood up, ready to go check on her friend, but Yoi grabbed her sleeve and shook his head. She reluctantly sat back down. She wouldn't be able to do anything anyways, and she needed to trust that Seiko knew what she was doing.

Seiko allowed herself to savor the taste of the chocolate in her mouth for a moment. It was rich and soft, with a flavor that was delightfully tasty, but not cloyingly sweet. It quickly began to melt, so she regretfully swallowed the candy, disappointed that she couldn't spend more time appreciating the flavor. She'd thought that she'd never be able to taste any of Ruruka's confections, but now she knew just how amazingly talented her longtime friend was. She was glad that she'd had the opportunity to try one of her sweets, even if it was just this once.

Within seconds though, her body began to react to the chocolate as the sugar within clashed with the ingredients in her medications. An unpleasant feeling of intense heat spread throughout her body, and her stomach began to cramp. Dark splotches of color began appearing on her skin as she could feel her muscles beginning to spasm. Her throat and lungs began to feel tight as they constricted, cutting off her oxygen supply, and her heart began beating erratically. She had to act quickly, before the symptoms became irreversible. Weakly reaching over with a shaking hand, she grabbed the syringe and stuck herself in the arm, injecting the serum into her bloodstream. As soon as it was empty, she let the syringe fall before collapsing to the floor.

A hush fell over the room as people's attentions were drawn to the scene. Ruruka watched anxiously, fearing the worst, while Sonosuke looked on stoically. Seiko was lying so still on the ground, and one of the judges started moving to check on her. Then, a twitch from one of her hands gave the first signal that she wasn't dead yet. Seiko gave a sudden gasp, then let out an unpleasant groan. She still felt sore all over, but the symptoms were declining, and with any luck, they'd be completely gone in a few minutes. Shakily, she pulled herself to her feet and faced the judges again. "Thank you all for your time and patience," she said, bowing before turning to make her way off the stage.

As she returned to her chair, Ruruka shook her head at her. "After seeing that," she said, "I'll never ask you to try one of my sweets again. I mean, I'm really glad that you finally tried one, but that was almost a disaster! I'd rather have you stick around and not eat my desserts than you eat them and die!"

"It tasted delightful though," Seiko replied, "And now, I think we understand each other a little bit better!" The two girls smiled at each other, happy that their previously strained friendship had been patched up, and glad to have each other's company.

The head judge approached the five students, his hands full of their evaluations. "Well, congratulations to the five of you," he said with a smile, "We were all very impressed, and all of you passed with flying colors." He handed out the evaluations to the five students present, and said, "Now, why don't you all enjoy the rest of your day off? I'm sure that you could use a break after preparing for your exams. We'll get things cleared out so that the next class can start their presentations."

* * *

Outside, Nagito gave a wry smile as he evaluated his situation. He still had his laxative spiked drinks, but without the trigger to detonate the bombs he'd planted, he wasn't sure that it would be enough to cause the exam ceremony to be canceled. "I guess it figures," he said to himself, "Even the Super High School Level Lucky Student can't have things go his way all the time." Given the duality of the spectrum of his luck, he honestly couldn't say that he was surprised that his plan had fallen apart. But it was almost worth it, to get to see the Hope demonstrated by his upperclassman as he took Kimura's bag back from Nagito!

A sudden bark startled Nagito as a small dog came out from behind one of the pillars holding up the overhead awning. It jumped up by his leg, and Nagito instinctively moved the tray up and out of the way to prevent the animal from reaching it. As if to mock his efforts, however, one of the cups wobbled and slipped off the tray, tumbling to the ground where its contents spilled all over the sidewalk. The dog immediately began lapping up the spilled liquid, clearly attracted to the appealing aroma.

"Ahh…" said Nagito warningly, "I wouldn't do that." Of course, the dog didn't listen, and continued drinking. If Gundham Tanaka, the Super High School Level Breeder and fellow classmate of Nagito's, was here, he could have convinced the animal to listen to him, but Nagito wasn't like the rest of his classmates. His talent was just luck, and compared to the wonderful and Hope inspiring abilities of his classmates, he was just worthless trash.

The dog suddenly stopped drinking and began to vibrate from some unseen force. It began to expand, growing rapidly until it towered over even the roof of the first floor of Hope's Peak. Its shadow was cast all over Nagito, and it stared down at him with the same curious expression it had worn before, only now it seemed much more terrifying given the animal's colossal size. Nagito, however, just took the incident in stride. "I don't think that was a laxative," he said, his voice nearly deadpan.

Something seemed to catch the dog's attention, as it turned towards the testing facility before bounding off. "Bad dog!" Nagito scolded, "No!" Again, however the dog ignored his commands, rushing off to investigate whatever had caught its attention. It leaped right over a group of students walking out of the testing facility, and crashed through the wall, its newfound bulk easily making short work of the structure.

Nagito just sat down, his mood having returned to a state of gloominess. "Of course I'd pick the wrong drug," he told himself, "I picked the wrong bag, so why not make mistakes with both of them. Could things be any worse? Imagine this happening to me, the Super High School Level Lucky Student himself experiencing such disaster." A chorus of screams from the testing facility caught his attention, and as he turned his gaze towards the building, an explosion ripped through the structure, blasting away the wall nearest to Nagito. The lucky student gave a grin, as he realized that his plan seemed to have come together despite all of the crazy mistakes that he'd made. "Well," he said cheerfully, "I guess that my luck actually came through for me after all! I'm so fortunate!"

* * *

The next day, Seiko was in her chemistry lab again, as usual. Even though the practical exams were over for her class and postponed for the underclassmen, and most of the other students were enjoying the precious free days that they were given after exams, Seiko still wanted to continue working. It was what she did best, and she loved experimenting with various combinations of medicines, each time hoping that the resulting formula could help someone in need.

She had just finished disposing of a mixture that had nearly blown up in her face, again, and was about to start on another when the door to the room slid open. "Seiko!" called Ruruka, as she walked cheerfully into the room. Surprisingly, Sonosuke wasn't with her at the moment. "I thought I'd find you in here," the confectioner said as she walked over and sat down next to Seiko, "I know how much you love working with your chemicals and formulas, but you really should get out and try doing some other stuff every once in a while."

"Maybe," replied the pharmacist, her voice filled with uncertainty, "But as long as I'm in here, I can keep helping people by refining better formulas to save lives."

"But if you go out there, you can actually help people yourself," Ruruka rebutted, "I mean, think about it. If you always stayed inside, would you have ever been able to save all those stray dogs and cats when you were younger? And would you have ever met Yoi or me?" Seiko looked up at her, her eyes pensive; clearly she hadn't thought about things that way before. Ruruka gave her friend a grin. "At least take a snack break with me," she urged, pulling out several bundles of treats from her bag.

"Ruruka," Seiko said exasperatedly, "I thought that you said that you wouldn't ask me to eat any of your sweets again, especially after seeing yesterday what they do to me."

"I know," Ruruka assured her, "but these ones are special, just like that medicine that you brought yesterday." She set out a handful of candies wreathed in gold wrapping, and a plate filled with cookies. "You said that you can't eat sugar or any artificial sweeteners," she explained, "so I decided to try making some treats using honey as a sweetener instead! Since it's a natural sweetener, I thought that it might not mess around with any of your medicines."

Seiko stared at the sweets, knowledge and experience having made her wary of such foods, but Ruruka's reassurances made the confections all the more alluring. Hesitantly, she reached out and grabbed one of the candies and removed the wrapper, revealing the amber colored sweet within. Slowly, she put the candy in her mouth, and found herself delighted by the flavor. It was a different kind of sweet than the chocolate that she'd eaten the previous day, but it was still almost intoxicatingly good. She chewed on it for several moments before swallowing, then waited for a reaction. Ten seconds went by, then thirty, then a minute. Nothing happened. She nearly jumped out of her chair and gave her friend a hug. "Thank you so much for this, Ruruka," she said sincerely, "I never thought that I'd ever get to really enjoy sweets like these, but you figured out a way to make it happen!"

"Well, I'm glad that you like them," said Ruruka, "Because I brought a bunch of them. You've got some serious catching up to do after missing out all these years." As Seiko began munching on a cookie, Ruruka decided to take one for herself. "So," she said, "Did you hear about Komaeda? He got suspended indefinitely after the debacle in the testing facility."

"I guess that does make sense," Seiko replied sadly, "After all, he did destroy a bunch of school property and endanger a lot of people. It's a miracle that no one was really hurt."

"Yeah, no kidding," agreed the confectioner, "The explosion was perfectly angled to make the building unusable, without actually harming anyone. It's going to be a while before it'll be available for the underclassmen to take their exams. I'm just surprised that they didn't expel him." A thought crossed her mind, and she gave a rather mocking giggle. "I still can't believe that one of the judges accidentally fell and hit the detonator switch. After all that fuss, you'd think that they'd have done a better job keeping it guarded!"

As Seiko gave a nod of agreement, the door slid open again, revealing a somewhat flustered Sonosuke. "There you are," he said crossly, "I didn't think that you'd just go running off to eat sweets without inviting me."

"Sorry Yoi," Ruruka apologized, "But I wanted to let Seiko have the first crack at these."

"Huh?" Sonosuke said, clearly confused, "You mean, she can eat these without any problems?" Ruruka smiled and nodded in reply. "And they don't have any sugar in them? Do they still taste as good as your other products?"

"Why don't you try them and see?" the confectioner replied invitingly, gesturing to an empty chair next to her.

Sonosuke took a seat, and skeptically took one of the candies. He put it in his mouth, and had to struggle not to drool as his eyes glazed over. "It's shtill so dewicious," he said, his words slurred by the candy in his mouth. As he reached over to grab some more, Seiko and Ruruka looked at each other and giggled at the sight of the normally stoic blacksmith completely losing himself in the sweets. Right now, the three friends had everything that they needed, and that wasn't likely to change.

* * *

AN: This is my first story for the Danganronpa fandom, and the first story I've put on site in quite some time, so hopefully I got the characters down fairly well. I know a lot of people don't like Ruruka, but she seems like a tragic victim of fate just as much as Kimura, though she definitely doesn't act as sympathetically. But, it's strongly hinted that she's still a sweet girl underneath her external facade, so that's what I decided to go with here.


End file.
